The New England Patriots' wide receiver depth took a hit last Friday night in their 20-10 preseason win over the Carolina Panthers at Gillette Stadium.
Might it impact Bill Belichick's potential trade plans moving forward?
Tyquan Thornton, a second-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, suffered a collarbone injury that reportedly could sideline him for two months, meaning the rookie won't be available to begin the regular season.
While this hardly qualifies as a crushing blow, seeing as Thornton remains an unknown commodity and New England's receiving corps features several viable veterans, it's certainly a notable development based on what we learned last week and what was reinforced this week.
NBC Sports Boston's Phil Perry reported last Friday -- before Thornton's injury -- that receiver-needy teams had called the Patriots about potentially making a trade.
Pro Football Focus' Doug Kyed reported the same Tuesday, citing a source, while adding New England has turned down any offers to this point.
This perhaps should come as no surprise. In addition to Thornton, New England has wideouts DeVante Parker, Kendrick Bourne, Nelson Agholor and Jakobi Meyers, among others. What the unit lacks in high-end talent, it makes up for in depth, especially when you consider the Patriots also have two good pass-catching tight ends (Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith) and a strong backfield featuring the likes of Damien Harris, Rhamondre Stevenson and versatile newcomer Ty Montgomery.
In theory, the Patriots still could trade a wide receiver before Week 1, even with Thornton sidelined. Perhaps they feel comfortable enough with the next men up -- Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Kristian Wilkerson and Tre Nixon -- to consider shipping someone out in favor of salary cap space.
"Jakobi Meyers ($3.986M), Kendrick Bourne ($5M) and DeVante Parker ($6.0625M) have the easiest contracts to move," Kyed wrote. "Nelson Agholor, who has impressed the team in training camp after the Patriots made offseason tweaks to their offense, would come with a $9 million salary, which at least one source with a wide receiver-needy team said he would be hesitant to take on for a player who struggled last season."
All told, it's probably less likely now than it was a week ago that New England will trade a wide receiver. The possibility shouldn't be ruled out, though. Because not only does Belichick oftentimes work in mysterious ways. Thornton's injury also might not mean much as it relates to the snap-count competition between Parker, Bourne, Agholor and Meyers.
Clearly, it's a situation that bears watching. And with so many other questions surrounding the Patriots' offense -- like, who's calling the plays? -- and Mac Jones entering his second season as New England's starting quarterback, the final decision could have major ramifications for the 2022 campaign.
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